Auth bypass in Kovidgoyal Calibre

CVE-2026-73249

calibre is an e-book manager. Prior to 9.12.0, the calibre Content Server endpoint POST /book-update-annotations/{library_id}/{book_id}/{fmt} in src/calibre/srv/books.py omits needs_db_write=True, causing Router.dispatch() to skip ctx.check_for_write_access() before update_annotations() passes attacker-controlled JSON to db.merge_annotations_for_book(), which allows a readonly user or an anonymous user on an unauthenticated deployment to persist unauthorized book annotation changes. This issue is fixed in version 9.12.0.

Vulnerability class: Broken Access Control

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (35.4th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 35th percentile — 35.4% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-73249: held from 0.002 to 0.004.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.004 · change: +0.002

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-73249?
CVE-2026-73249 is a high-severity vulnerability in Kovidgoyal Calibre, classified under Missing Authorization. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2026-08-11.
How severe is CVE-2026-73249?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.